


A Canoe of Her Own

by sophia_sol



Category: Hark! A Vagrant
Genre: Canada, Canadian stereotypes, Canoes, Collection: Purimgifts Day 1, Gen, High School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-10
Updated: 2011-03-10
Packaged: 2017-10-16 20:33:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/169059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophia_sol/pseuds/sophia_sol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared thinks he's so cool. Stacey thinks his canoe's so cool.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Canoe of Her Own

**Author's Note:**

  * For [verity](https://archiveofourown.org/users/verity/gifts).



> Fic for Hark! A Vagrant's [Canadian Stereotype Comics](http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=250), the second comic on the page, entitled "Birthday."
> 
> Note: Many thanks to my (currently nameless, for reasons of author anonymity) beta for her brainstorming help in coming up with how best to increase the proportion of Canadian-stereotypes-to-words in this fic. And at least one excellent line in the fic is of her crafting. The most fun I've ever had with betaing!

"Ohmigosh, did you see Jared's canoe?" Stacey said breathlessly.

"I know, eh? _So hot_." Clarice clasped her hands together, a distant, wanting expression on her face.

Stacey grinned. "I just about swooned on the spot when I saw it!" she said. "Cedar-strip! It's totally top of the line."

"And I heard he's got a new dog-sled for winter, too!" said Clarice. "Melissa said that Jeanne said that she saw the team, and the dogs are _amazing_."

"I bet Jared thinks he's so cool now, just because his dad can afford to give him stuff like that," Karen put in, frowning. "Just because his _dad_ has that huge maple forest and syrup processing plant doesn't mean _he's_ the greatest thing the town has ever seen."

"But you have to admit that canoe is gorgeous!" broke in Clarice. "If it got me a ride in that, I'd go out with Jared any day."

Stacey waved a hand dismissively. "Naw," she said. "Jared's a jerk. I mean, he didn't even apologize when he accidentally stepped on my toes last week!"

"Ohmigosh! But -- _you_ apologized, right?" Karen said.

"Well -- yes. Of course." Stacey blushed a bit. "But, god, sometimes I think Jared could be _American_." She stopped.

Neither of the other girls spoke.

"Not that there's anything wrong with being American!" she finished hurriedly.

"Of course not!"

"Obviously!"

"Anyways," Stacey continued, "even a canoe like _that_ can't make up for him. Besides, I'd rather have a canoe of my own. Wouldn't you?"

"Yeah...." Karen and Clarice sighed in unison.

"But they're so expensive!" Karen said. "I've been googling around, trying to see what I can get in cheap canoes, and I can't find anything I could afford. And my parents would never buy me one. I'm an 'irresponsible teenager' and I'd just bash it to pieces on rocks, they say."

"What do you wanna bet Jared dents his within a week?" Stacey said, eyes gleaming. "I've seen him paddle. He thinks he's so hotshot, but his J-stroke lacks any finesse."

"What a waste of a gorgeous canoe," said Clarice. "If I had a canoe like that? I'd take the _best_ care of it."

Karen shot her a scornful look. "Remember that time we went joyriding in your parents' kevlar? And got the paint all scratched up because you got it stuck on a beaver dam, and we had to squelch through smelly mud halfway up our calves while we tried to get it free? And your parents grounded you for, like, a _month_?"

"Yeah, but that was _ages_ ago. I'd never do that now!"

Karen raised her eyebrows at Clarice, and said nothing.

Stacey sighed. "I don't think I'll ever get a canoe as slick as Jared's," she said. The she brightened. "But! I've heard you can buy old banged up canoes from Algonquin for real cheap, and then you just have to fix it up yourself!"

"Ooh!" Clarice said, wide-eyed. "That's such a great idea! Too bad I have, like, _no_ money."

"Do you know how to fix canoes?" asked Karen.

"Yeah, don't worry!" Stacey laughed. "I was looking it up, it's totally doable. Way easier than the ice-sculpting I was teaching myself last winter! It'll be a bit of a challenge, but _so_ worth it. And I've got enough money saved, I think."

"And can you imagine the look on Jared's face?" Karen said, grinning. "When he sees he's not the only kid in the school with a canoe of his own? That'll be _priceless_ , eh?"

Stacey smiled dreamily. "Yeah," she said. "And then I'll paddle circles around him, just you wait."

**Author's Note:**

> Photo source: http://forums.cottagelife.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1366


End file.
